The City of Sacramento is set to receive $15.3 million from the newly passed federal stimulus package to help prevent evictions among vulnerable City residents.
Per the relief bill, these rental-assistance funds will be provided to low-income Sacramentans who have been unemployed for at least 90 days at the time of applying.
The money is expected to arrive by Jan. 26 and will be administered by the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency (SHRA), which last year received $5.3 million in City CARES Act funding to execute a rental-assistance program.
“Thousands of Sacramento families find themselves on the brink of losing their housing because of loss of income or jobs due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said SHRA Executive Director La Shelle Dozier. “This additional funding will help many more families avoid eviction and homelessness and give them breathing room while they deal with the challenges of this unprecedented public health crisis.”
Since the onset of the pandemic, the Sacramento Emergency Rental Assistance (SERA) program, a joint effort among the City of Sacramento, SHRA and the County of Sacramento, has helped approximately 900 families stay in their homes.
“Through the leadership of our Mayor and Council, the City has been able to implement a multitude of housing and homeless resources this last year to directly assist our community impacted by the pandemic,” said the City’s Housing Policy Manager Danielle Foster. “We will continue to work tirelessly to assist those affected by this pandemic. I am glad we can get these vital resources to our impacted residents during this trying time.”
Additional details on eligibility requirements and the application process will be posted to the SERA website shortly.
Other COVID-19 resources including Wi-Fi access, youth programs and help accessing financial resources can be found on the City’s COVID relief website.